The Telegraph has an interesting read today. Hardcopy books are coming back into style. It reminds me of vinyl records enjoying a resurgences. I think, though, that there’s little hope for hardcopy books in general as the “shelfie” trend the writer describes would favor boutique presses and handcrafting publishers. There is a forecast, however, for e-books to drop in sales as people turn away from screens. That might be the biggest take-away from the article.
E-books Sales to Drop as Bookshelf Resurgence Sparks ‘Shelfie’ Craze
by Katie Morley, Consumer Affairs Editor
Bookshelves are making a comeback in living rooms as a “shelfie” interior design craze is sweeping the UK.
Brit’s increasing desire to show off their personality and intellect through their book collections is boosting book sales, but will see sales of e-books fall for the first time ever, consumer analysts have predicted.
According to Mintel sales of physical books are forecast to rise by 6 per cent this year to £1.7 billion while sales of e-books are predicted to fall by 1 per cent to £337 million in 2017. . . .
Click here to read the rest of the article (external link)
Photograph from here: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/12-of-the-worlds-coolest-builtin-bookshelves-212556?crlt.pid=camp.fsuJbLNRC3SI
It’s a bit sad that this is only happening because of a fashion reason… but at least there would be some hope to find ebooks at a much reasonable price (not that I read any)